This feature used to run weekly but with the dearth of postings on Austin’s Chowhound board it’s now going to be an intermittent article.

The unpaid volunteer moderators who ran off dozens of posters in the past 2 years deserve a round of applause. Mission accomplished y’all. What was formerly the hottest food board in Central Texas is now a ghost town with some days seeing nary a post.

Without further ado. The most interesting threads recently gleaned off the Austin Chowhound board. 1] Uber poster “Alan Sudo” is wondering about where to get fried tacos. Take it away Mr. Sudo “…..”Tacos Dorados De Barbacoa Adobada” at Taqueria Los Altos. Corn tortillas are filled with flavorful chili and spice marinated barbacoa and then grilled. The heat releases a red-orange mixture of grease and spice that soaks into the corn shell, giving it a deep fried quality. Served with a mound of grilled jalapenos and onions on the side, it’s very greasy and seriously delicious.”

That is too funny. We had these for lunch yesterday at Los Altos and they are delicious. The day cook is still putting out some good food at Los Altos. The night cook needs to look for a new line of work. Do not go there past 3 pm or you will be sorely disappointed.

Around town when we want these, the magic words when ordering are “tortillas mas dorados”. Most cooks know to then take the freshly made taco and finish it on the flat top with a little hot fat. It’s a naughty presentation but a delicious one. When we make breakfast tacos at the house this is the normal preparation.

and here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/2010/9/5/Austin-Daily-Photo-Los-Altos-Saturday-September-4th-2010

and here http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/2010/10/30/Austin-Daily-Photo-Los-Altos-Saturday-October-30th-2010

We now bring our own totopos for their two superb salsas. The in house ones are dreadful so we just bring a bag of our own. They smile and shrug as though other people are doing the same thing.

2] Poster “SLadd” is concerned with the current state of dining in Austin. “Just last night, we decided to try Siena since we had not been there in several months. Of course, the Boar is great, but everything else left us wanting. The risotto was no better than one from a box…really! We watched the service staff give back massages in front of the cooking window…lordy, lordy!”

Wonder if they’re hiring.

Siena Restaurant should not be any sort of gauge on dining in Austin. It’s an “eat with your eyes” restaurant. They spent a ton of money on the buildout but the kitchen has never been a significant player in town.

If you need good Italian food, and we frequently do, just head to La Traviata downtown. Chef Gilchrist is putting out the best in the city. This is where we take out of towners when they show up demanding to eat like they’re in the Boot.

“Sladd” please go and get the carbonara you’ve been seeking. It’s insanely delicious.

Poster “elpaninaro” jumps to Austin’s defense “Austin is more promising than it has ever been. There are a lot of serious and dedicated chefs here who don’t care about getting some food critic Award or getting on Top Chef. If I want to taste food from guys like that – I go to NY or LA where the real talent is on the cutting edge. Austin can be awesome, but it is not cutting edge.”

Great point. Austin’s never had it this good. We’re seeing an explosion in our food scene that is unrivaled nationally. The food trailer movement alone is firing a US wide discussion on our formerly sleepy little town. We’ve got Thai, Filipino, Cajun, Japanese, Columbian, Peruvian and dozens of other cuisines being represented on 4 wheels right now.

You could walk down east 6th street with a twenty dollar bill and eat 4 courses from 4 different food trailers and have your food loving mind blown.

If you’re disappointed in Austin’s current dining scene then you’re not getting out on the town enough. It’s out there we promise.

It quickly comes to light that he’s speaking of Mrs. Johsons.It would never occur to us to characterize Mrs Johnson’s as creepy. It’s old and slightly worn but is in no way creepy.

If you want the best donuts in Austin this is where the conversation begins. http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/2011/2/8/Austin-Daily-Photo-Mrs-Johnsons-Bakery-Tuesday-February-8th-2011

4] Poster “slowcoooked” loves the Taco Joint on San Jacinto “This relatively newly opened brick and mortar taco dive makes their own tortillas (both kinds) and kills the breakfast tacos. They do a nice migas open faced on a corn tortilla and the little corn strips are crunchy, delightfully so. They have a really nice avocado jalapeño sauce that’s fragrant, light green, and plenty peppy ”

We love Taco Joint but the salsas need to be completely reworked. We bring our own. The flour tortillas are among the best in the area. Chef Rosie is as sweet as she can be and definitely wields a mean rolling pin. More http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/2012/1/28/Austin-Daily-Photo-Taco-Joint-New-Taqueria-On-University-Texas-Campus-From-Owner-Of-Sao-Paulo

5] Poster “Oyster Boy” raves about the oysters at Captain Benny’s up on the southbound I-35 frontage road. “I had a dozen raw gulf oysters and a couple beers at Capt. Benny’s on Friday night and enjoyed them immensely. The gulf oysters were medium in size, salty and good. I believe the cost was $8.00 a dozen. I’ve had them for double that price right across I-35. ”

Thanks for the tip Oyster Boy. We’ve been getting our spring supply down at Perla’s in south Austin but they are astronomically expensive. Definitely going to go visit the Captain as it’s been far too long since we’ve been up that way.

Any our our readers who can find it in their hearts to sign up over on the Chowhound board would be greatly appreciated. It’s sad to see the old gal breathing through an iron lung with a colostomy bag hanging off her scrawny rib cage.